McDaniel adds coaching experience where Flores couldn't
In the midst of the New League Year new Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel has put together quite the coaching staff. Particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
There are people on both sides of the fence when it comes to coach Flores’ firing. However, regardless of how you felt, his biggest shortcoming was the inability to hire & retain established coaches on the offensive side of the ball.
The Jim Caldwell era ended just as quickly as it began. Chan Gailey was gone after one year. And in his third season as head coach, settled with co-offensive coordinators George Godsey and Eric Studesville.
If the organization was smart, they could have used this as the excuse to fire Flores as opposed to his relationship with general manager Chris Grier and owner Stephen Ross.
In 2021 Miami’s offense failed to establish an identity, failed to running the ball, and failed to protect the quarterback (even as they shifted to a quick passing game). Coach McDaniel was brought in to correct these issues and hopefully bring stability to the offensive side of the ball.
Miami’s team stats on offense were horrendous:
22nd in scoring
25th in total yards
29th in yards per play
13th in 3rd percentage
17th in passing yards
29th rushing yards
Comparing the differences in coaching staff alone, fans should be optimistic about Miami’s future. Below is a comparison of the different position coaches. Coach McDaniel kept a few pieces in place, but you will quickly notice the vast difference in quality from Flores to McDaniel.
2021 coaching staff —> 2022 coaching staff
Head Coach — Brian Flores → Mike McDaniel
Both coaches had no prior head coaching experience. Flores began coaching experience with New England in 2008, and by 2018 was calling plays for the defense. It should be said, spending his entire coaching career in one organization you miss the opportunity to build relationships with other coaches. Coach McDaniel started his 2005 as an intern for the Denver Broncos. He bounced around with 4 NFL teams working as an assistant and coaching both running backs & wide receivers. 2021 was his first year in a coordinator position.
Offensive coordinators — Godsey/Studesville → Frank Smith
For the 2021 season, coach Flores had to settle on co-offensive coordinators, Eric Studesville and George Godsey. They were internal hires, Godsey previously coaching tight ends, and Studesville the running backs. Godsey had offensive coordinator experience in Houston from 2015-2016, but play calling duties pulled from him by then Houston head coach Bill O’Brien.
Frank Smith was hired this offseason. His experience coaching in the NFL for a number of years, similar to his predecessors. Smith’s resume features a history coaching the offensive line, tight ends, and as a run game coordinator. This is is first year with the offensive coordinator title (although McDaniel will be calling plays).
Quarterbacks — Charlie Frye → Darrell Bevell (passing game coordinator)
Frye had zero years coaching in the NFL, although he played 2004-2009. As a coach he had relevant experience coaching at Ashland (2018) and Central Michigan (2019-2020). Bevell has been in the league since 2000. He has coached quarterbacks and was a coordinator for 14 years including the designation as interim head coach in 2020 (Detroit) and 2021 (Jacksonville).
Running backs — Studesville → Studesville
Coach Studesville lives to fight another day in Miami. He lost his title of Co-Offensive Coordinator in exchange for Assistant Head Coach. Studesville has a very good reputation as a running backs coach in the NFL.
Tight ends — George Godsey→ Jon Embree
I already talked about coach Godsey above, Embree brings an extensive coaching background. Including 12 years as a tight ends coach in he NFL. He was also the head coach at Colorado from 2011-2012. Prior to his first stint in the league, he coached Colorado & UCLA from 1993-2005.
Wide receivers — Josh Grizzard → Wes Welker
Like many of coach Flores assistant coaches, Grizzard had limited experience as a coach. He was a graduate assistant & quality control at Duke from 2013-2016. He join the Dolphins as an offensive quality control coach in 2017, he eventually coached receivers starting in 2020. He is being retained as quality control staff for the 2022 season. He does have a unique link to coach McDaniel, as both coaches played football at Yale.
Welker played in the NFL for 12 seasons, including 3 with your Miami Dolphins. Coach Welker was an assistant for Houston in 2017-2018 and receivers coach in 2019-2021 with San Francisco.
Offensive line — Lemuel Jeanpierre → Matt Applebaum
Jeanpierre only coach in the NFL since 2017, he was an assistant offensive line coach for 3 seasons prior to his promotion in 2021. Jeanpierre did play in the NFL to for 7 seasons along the offensive line. Applebaum has no NFL experience, but was a starter for 2 years at UConn. He coached in the NFL as an assistant for the Redskins and Jaguars. Applebaum has coached the offensive line at the college level for 8 years. Some added value he brings is previous coaching experience similar systems as McDaniel.
Jeanpierre was retained for 2022 as assistant offensive line coach. Hopefully with the experience of the two o-line coaches, Frank Smith’s resume, and McDaniel leadership Miami can improve the play of this group significantly.
For position coaches, McDaniel’s 2022 coaching staff features over 73 years combined NFL coaching experience to go along with an additional 36 years in college. In Flores 2021 season, his position coaches had a combined 45 years NFL experience and only 14 years combined in college.
I will be the first one to admit that experience isn’t everything, but it can definitely help. The start of the 2022 is still far away and McDaniel and his team have a long way to go.